Hermes is changing its name to Evri and people on Twitter have some of THE best reactions to the company’s news.
Online sales went through the roof during the pandemic – people were in lockdown and so the delivery companies went into overdrive. However, some companies definitely rated better among their customers than others. Unfortunately, Hermes wasn’t one of them.
What Brought Hermes Down?
According to a league table produced by Citizens Advice in November 2021 Hermes received an overall rating of 1.5 stars. Citizens’ advice gave the company a 2-star rating for ‘trust’ and a 1-star rating for handling customer problems.
In their defence, Yodel wasn’t doing much better as it was ranked fourth with 1.75 stars, just ahead of Hermes.
Then The Times went undercover at a Hermes site in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, where the reporter secretly filmed employees at the delivery firm throwing deliveries against cages, walls and onto the floor.
The video also showed one manager say drivers should ‘act stupid’ when dealing with complaints from customers.
In a statement last year Hermes said: ‘We do not claim to be perfect and are aware that in an operation of our size there will be individual issues that we need to improve.
‘We are determined to do this but remain confident that the vast majority of these allegations are unfounded and do not reflect our business and the standards we deliver.’
The company added: ‘We have however acted swiftly and launched a full investigation. Our senior teams are currently at the Delivery Unit mentioned undertaking an urgent review.
‘This unit is performing well and there are no issues regarding service or damage.’
Responding to the investigation, John Lewis told The Times it was ‘alarmed’ and had asked Hermes to ‘investigate urgently’, while Next and H&M said they were discussing the footage and Marks & Spencer took the claims ‘very seriously’.
Hermes To Evri
Following these allegations and revelations Hermes is set to undergo a huge rebrand – including changing the name to Evri.
With Evri a new logo will be rolled out across the country and major changes will be made to the company including the news a £7 million annual investment will be put into staff pensions, which was described as a first in the UK logistics industry.
The company will also introduce the right to maternity and paternity leave for all so-called ‘self employed plus’ (SE+) couriers from this month.
However, the company said these changes are not related to the rebrand.
Chief executive Martijn de Lange told the Daily Mail: ‘When we first announced our SE+ model in 2019 we committed to continuing to develop our support for our self-employed couriers and we are proud to have been true to that and be leading the industry once again.
‘Our couriers receive guaranteed pay rates, paid holiday and now a pension but have also been able to retain the flexibility that so many treasure, fitting in their deliveries alongside their other, often family, commitments.
‘This rebrand follows significant investment and two years of dramatic growth which has resulted in our entire business going through a major transformation programme.
‘It is more than just a name change – it is a statement of intent of our commitment to leading the way in creating responsible delivery experiences for ”Evri one”, ”Evri where”.
‘It heralds a new culture and an even better way of doing things in an ever-evolving world, building on our achievements and successes.’
What Twitter thinks of the rebrand
Of course you can’t have a major rebrand without people reacting to it, and that is exactly what happened when many people took to Twitter commenting the name change was ‘fitting’. Here’s just a small selection of some of Twitter’s finest:
